


Grace * Jovi * Eiko

by An1Maver1ck



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan, shingeki no kyjoin
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2016-04-11
Packaged: 2018-06-01 16:03:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6526789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/An1Maver1ck/pseuds/An1Maver1ck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grace Alana, Jovi Meir, and Eiko all come from different parts of the districts, but are united under the blue and white stripes of the wings of freedom.  Taking place after Eren is revealed to be a titan, all three girls must struggle with their own weaknesses, relationships, and the hopelessness of humanity all while trying to keep their friendship intact.</p><p>The only characters that belong to us are Jovi, Grace, and Eiko.  All the other are from the Attack on Titan universe and we do not hold any ownership over them.  This is a transformative work written purely for our own entertainment and hopefully a few of you out there will enjoy it as well!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Reunion

"I can't believe you're really going to talk about the smell while knowing that this is a million times worse for me!" Grace wiped the sweat out of her face as she wrinkled her nose. "This is really not the place for me... I'd rather be with the others to see the new cadets. At least we're not the little ones anymore." While Grace was leaning against one of the horses and brushing her hand through the horse's mane Jovi mostly ignored her. Standing 20 centimeters higher than the horse self, Grace had a height around 1,80 centimeters which made her taller than most of the soldiers. Her blonde hair was short and handy while her brown eyes looked around with slight disgust. "Jovi, are you even listening to me?"

Before Grace could get an answer a slight cough was heard behind the tall girl. Before turning around she straightened her back. The smell of this place nearly ruined all her supernatural smelling skills. Turning her head around she had to look twice at the boy, who was obviously a new cadet, in front of her. Dumbfounded she lowered her shoulders again and tilted her head, a grin slowly growing on her face. No words were exchanged for a moment. "I can't believe... Jean? Jean Kirstein, is that you?!" Grace finally cried out.

The tall, lean boy with the disheveled hair looked up at her in surprise. "Grace?" he asked, dropping the reigns of the horse he was leading.

She giggled, "Yes! It's me! Oh my gosh! I haven't seen you in years!" She dropped the shovel she was holding and strode over to him, her long legs covering the distance quickly. Last time she'd seen him, he towered over her, but she'd had a growth spurt or two and now stood eye to eye... perhaps even a little taller than him. "Did you just join the corps?"

Jean couldn't believe he was seeing her. After just losing his best friend, he had somehow managed to stumble across an old one. He kicked the dust with his boots. "Uh, yeah, looks like it," he answered. "It looks like you did, too, huh?"

"Yeah, two years ago! I can't believe you're here, though! I always thought you were dead-set on the MPs! It's all you'd ever go on about as a kid."

Jean, gave her a small, ironic smile, "Yeah, that was the plan."

Grace gave him a puzzled look. "Did you not graduate high enough to join? There's no shame in that! But still, the Corps? I figured you'd choose the Garrison if you weren't able to make..."

"I graduated plenty high enough," he interjected. "I joined this Survey Corps of my own free will. A lot..." he hesitated. "A lot has happened since we were kids, you know?"

She frowned, "Oh no, I didn't mean anything by it! It's just... I never expected to see you again, especially not here!"

"Ahem!" Jovi coughed behind them, giving Grace a look. "Are you going to make me finish this myself?"

Grace turned her head back to where Jovi was standing. "Could you do me a favor? Just this time I promise, I owe you something big!" Grace clapped her hands together and begged Jovi who rolled her eyes and gritted her teeth. "Fine, Alana, just this once. Just show cadet whatever-his-name-is where the dorms are or something as an excuse, and then hurry back!" With a huge grin on her face Grace turned back to Jean who tried to rub a blush out of his face.

It'd been years since they had seen each other last in Trost. Even then they were only able to play together sparingly. As a result of Grace's mother raising her alone, she wasn't around often. Much from what he remembered reminded him of Marco, back in Trost she was something like a ray of sunlight walking around the town, being a proper girl when her mother was watching, but instantly running through mud or skinning her knees when given the chance to escape. He had no idea why, but she always spoke about the Survey Corps, the only thing that held her back was the age she had to pass first and her mother.

"Dreaming again Jean?" As he snapped back into reality he saw that Grace already took care of the horse he just brought here. "N-no! Of course not!" Lowering his brows a little.

Seeing Jean brought a well of joy up in Grace's chest. After all the gruesome cleanup in Trost, seeing a familiar face from childhood was pleasant distraction. Something positive to come from all the destruction.

"Well, if you like, I can show you the men's dormitories?" she asked, pointing off to a portion of the compound Jean hadn't been yet.

"Uh, yeah sure, that'd be great." Even with all her talk of the corps as a kid, Jean was still in shock at seeing her here. With everything going on the past several years, days even, with training, the reappearance of the armored and colossal titans, Eren, everything, the thought of someone he knew from so long ago being in the corps never even crossed his mind.

"It's so great to see you, Jean-bo!" she chattered on, seemingly unfazed by all that had passed in the last several daya; Eren's trial, moving the survey corps out to this remote and formerly abandoned stronghold, the recent decimation of Trost. He figured she must have been in the corps long enough now to be completely unmoved by titans at this point.

"Don't call me that. I aged, too," Jean said and walked next to Grace. Of course he was happy to see her, but the little girl from back then wasn't left. Her happiness surely hadn't changed, but the way she looked now, he was almost too embarrassed to look at her. Of course his pride forbade him to think like that. The long blond pigtails were cut into a shaggy mess and her features had become way more feminine. 

Grace tilted her head a little and let out a disappointed sigh. "Fine."

"Wait, just like that? You won't fight for the right to say it?" 

The blonde frowned a little and put one hand on her hip when she stopped walking looking at his back before he stopped two steps later. "Why should I? Surely you'd love having me remind you of your mother?" she teased.

"Well when I saw my mom some time ago while still in training ... let's just say she wasn't that cooperative. It was embarrassing." 

"Oh my god. Your mother just loves you Jean, that's all." She nudged him playfully in the ribs.

Before Jean could react with more than just an awkward rubbing of his neck , Grace's laugh changed into a sniffing sound followed by a smile. 

"Alana, shouldn't you be cleaning the stall?" A voice from behind Jean startled him slightly, as opposed to Grace who seemed to have noticed the man long before he spoke. She turned around and saluted to her Squad Lead, Mike Zacharius. 

"I was just showing cadet Kirstein where the dormitories are!"

Mike sniffed the air, committing the sent of this new recruit to memory. The boy looked at him nervously, while Alana smiled broadly with her hands moving behind her back and rocking back on her feet.

"Hmm... Very well. But do hurry. You know Lieutenant Mier has better things to do that pick up your slack. The Commander has been asking for her you know."

"Uh, yessir, I'm sorry! I'll be back right away, I swear!"

Mike eyed her for a moment and then turned to leave. "All right, but make it quick."

Grace quickly saluted again, "Thank you, sir!"

Once Mike had walked away, Grace said, "Okay, I guess I need to make this quick! I'm sorry! But if you want, you can find me after dinner and we can catch up! Oh my gosh, you have no idea how excited I am to see you! What a blast from the past!"

Jean was excited to see her as well, but his feelings were a little more complicated than just elation. Grace was no longer the knobby-kneed little girl he remembered. Of course he was no longer the goofy, chubby kid either. Jean had grown up a lot in the past several years. Hell, in the past several days.

Grace's voice became a little more serious as they went on, "And you can tell me what all happened in Trost," she said, her face suddenly void of emotion. 

Caught off-guard Jean looked at her his mouth slightly open. "Yeah. I guess I can do that," he spoke clenching his fist so that she couldn't see. She didn't need to know now that he'd just lost his friend, after all, how many had Grace lost? In two years of being a Survey Corps member she must have seen so many faces come and go.

He could have slapped himself for only thinking about Marco. The real challenge had just began. From everything he heard, it was normal for Corps members to drop like flies. Jean, though, was determined to stay alive.

"It was... tough," Jean answered.

Grace smirked slightly. "Yeah, I can imagine. Nothing like baptism by fire, huh? And you hadn't even selected your branch affiliation yet, right? Still technically trainees? That's rough. But... you still chose the corps."

Jean was silent for a moment. Baptism by fire was pretty much the gist of it. How many of the "baptized" had survived? He shook his head slightly. Again she'd been in the corps much longer; most certainly having seen friends come and go a hundred times over by now.

"So, how do you like the corps?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

She brightened a bit, "Oh it's great! Everyone here is so... themselves. I don't know if that makes sense!" She giggled. "I guess it's just a haven for those of us who look for something more in life than just complacency. And going outside the walls! Oh wow!" She looked wistfully skyward. "It's incredible Jean, just wait! There's nothing like your first expedition. Hopefully you make it back from yours." She winked at him.

Even though he knew she was teasing he still felt a knot form in his throat. He definitely planned on making back. No matter what.

"Well, here we are," she announced stopping outside the western wing of the main building. "I don't know what room you're in or whatever, I'm sure someone inside can help, but feel free to find me after dinner tonight! I'd love to hear what you've been up to!" And with that she left him, waving behind her as she bounded away back to the stables.


	2. The Captain

Jovi grunted and she shoveled manure and bedding from the last stall. This was not her job. Not anymore. It hadn't been for nearly two years, yet here she was shoveling shit because somebody had a blast from the past and had to go sight-seeing with some new kid.

"The stables have looked like shit ever since you got promoted. Glad to see you've been put back where you belong."

Jovi looked up. Captain Levi leaned against the entrance to the stall she was cleaning. "Ha ha, so funny," she replied, not stopping her work. "Trust me this is just temporary. You'll have your shitty stalls back in no time."

He smirked at her and silently watched as she finished cleaning the stall. When she was done she leaned against her shovel and observed her Captain. He stood only a few inches taller than she, but his presence was staggering. Although by now she wasn't afraid to cut him down to size.

Once she'd caught her breath, she walked over to him, "Did you need something, Captain?" She glanced about to see if anyone else was nearby.

"Just you," he answered reaching out and wiping and smear of dirt off her cheek. "You're disgusting now, though."

"Yeah, yeah, 'please shower before getting near me.' Like I don't know that by now," she chided.

Levi quickly looked about and despite her grimy appearance quickly pressed his lips softly against hers. "Go shower," he said with a small smile before striding of, his green cloak swishing back and forth behind him.

Jovi stood there a minute, staring after the last man she ever would have thought she'd give two shits about. Levi may be clean freak, but he sure did seem to enjoy his dirty little secret. Her.

"Hey!" Grace came jogging back up the path, waving as she came. "I'm back! What's left?"

"Nothing," Jovi said quickly, setting the shovel aside and wiping her forehead on her sleeve. "Damn, I do not miss this job."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Grace apologized. "It's just... I haven't seen Jean in years!"

Jovi chuckled softly. "Don't worry about it."

"Thank you! You're the best!" Grace threw her arm around the shoulders of the much shorter girl. "I saw Levi leaving the stables, did he come to bitch about how shitty a job we did?"

"Ha, no thankfully. He was... pleasant enough I suppose."

Grace smiled. "That's good! I know you two tend to butt heads, so if he's ever a jerk I'll kick that shrimp's ass!" Grace laughed at her own joke and they strode down the path to the dormitories.

"I can handle the captain, don't worry," Jovi replied. She couldn't help but smile at the younger girl's sense of duty over Jovi who was more than capable of handling herself. Sometimes she thought the girl was so tall she literally lost her head in the clouds. Just one of Grace's charming quirks.

"It's a real relief that this was the last time I have to do this god damn stall cleaning. New recruits can be the ones to do that stuff!" Grace exclaimed, wearing a huge smile on her face while throwing her arms into the air. "Imagine that! Plus I won't have to come ask you for help. Win win!"

"Good for you, but don't you dare to forget the favor you mentioned earlier," her technically-superior said with a smirk. 

"Of course not, how could I? After all, I've known you longer than anyone else here. Well, minus Jean now."

Jovi shook her head a little. Sometimes she wondered if Grace was ever serious. She was always positive and chipper no matter what situation she found herself in. One couldn't be possibly be this pleasant all the time. But, after 5 years, Grace had yet to let Jovi see her any other way.

***

Back in training the young blonde didn't make it even close to the top ten, not too surprising since she started at age twelve, slightly younger than most of the other recruits. When Grace wasn't around, Jovi overhead conversations of the other members of the trainee corps saying things like:

"She isn't even trying to reach the top ten." "Why is she always so cheerful?" "Either something's very wrong with that girl or maybe she's someone we could learn a thing or two from."

Mostly it was the boys, both frustrated and impressed by the girl, who tried to drive her mad and never managed to succeed. By now, Jovi, Grace, and Petra were the only ones of the 102nd trainee squad left in the Corps. Mostly because nearly all the top ten, except Jovi, joined the Military Police and in the end most of the others were too scared of the Survey Corps. However, many had to face their fears when Trost fell, leaving only seven remained from a total of 200 trainees.

But over the last two years she had become a strong young woman, her abilities seeming to improve every day. Besides her unbreakable mind, she seemed to be skilled with making little traps for titans to kill them. Not everyone had a kill count of 25 within the first two years, and no one had this count using the tactics she had employed.

***

"Why are you smiling? You don't believe me?" Grace asked after a longer break and tilted her head with a questioning and confused expression on her face. 

Breaking out of her memories of Grace, Jovi only replied with a soft chuckle. "Nothing, siren."


	3. Caught

With that they walked into the dormitories. Once they got cleaned up, they changed into fresh clothes to attend the dinner.

Grace was more than happy when she was able to walk over to the new cadets. She decided to raise Jean's ego a bit. Of course there were other guys and Grace wasn't dumb. After walking up behind Jean, who was standing with his back turned towards her, she placed a hand on his shoulders stopping him from whatever he was talking about.

It was a shame that Grace wasn't able to read minds currently. The faces of the others were priceless. Most likely believing her to be a high-ranking superior, the others waited with baited breath to see what someone like her would want with Jean.

"Hey Jean, mind introducing me to the new cadets?"

Jean felt the heat rise in his cheeks. "Uh, y-yeah sure."

Grace moved so she was standing beside Jean. Her arms crossed, she observed the unusually large group of new recruits. 

Jean began, moving from left to right. "Uh, this is Connie, Sasha, Ymir, Krista, Reiner, Bertolt, Mikasa, Armin, and Eren." His voice soured slightly as he said the last name.

Grace beamed at the new recruits. "I'm so happy to see so many of you join the Corps! Normally we only get 1 or 2 but this is great!" She couldn't help but notice an unusual scent from several of he recruits. 

She leaned her arm on Jean's shoulder, observing all the new recruits. So... the last one was Jaeger. Grace had heard quite a lot about him, and had been there to see him transform into a titan to fix the wall in Trost. She wasn't quite sure what to think of the kid, yet. The smell from him was different than a normal human. She wrinkled her nose, trying to place it. The scent seemed to come from more than just him, though, but with the crowd she wasn't able to pinpoint it.

Jean tried desperately to keep his cheeks from turning bright pink as Grace leaned against him in front of his peers. Part of him was proud to have a higher ranked solider pay him notice in front of them all, while the other part of him wanted to die of embarrassment. Despite this, he did manage to notice the look of shock on the faces of his male counterparts. Maybe having Grace around would turn out to be even better than he thought.

From across the dining hall, Jovi couldn't help but chuckle to herself as she noticed look on the new recruits' faces as Grace galavanted about in front of them. The endearing thing about Grace was the she meant nothing by it at all. Yet, the effect she had on the guys was undeniable. Completely unlike Jovi.

Most everyone was more or less afraid of Jovi. It was true that things had gotten better over the past couple of years, but she still noticed people skirting around her. She had gone from shadow crawler to Erwin's shadow with out really leaving the former behind.

She sat alone at the dining table, eating and observing. "Hey, Meir," Mike Zacharius approached her. "Erwin's been asking for you."

Jovi sighed. As much as she respected... hell, adored, her Commander, she couldn't help but feel slightly irked when he "needed" her so badly at the most inopportune times. Dinner. Holidays. Sick leave. It didn't matter. Erwin always needed her. She was more than happy to accommodate, but did wish he'd be a bit more timely.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll get there," Jovi sighed, stuffing her face with the last bits of food on her plate. Once she'd finished eating, she dusted herself off and made her way across the dining hall. She felt Captain Levi's eyes on her back as she passed, smirking to herself. Out of all the things she had accomplished since joining the corps, he was her proudest achievement. Completely unexpected, still slightly hated, yes. But still, he almost made all she'd gone through so far worth it. The worst part of it was keeping it all under wraps.

***

The last thing Jovi tried to think about was the military. They were nothing more than a thorn in her side. Just a sticky mire she had to pick through in order to make it to whatever destination was next.

Jovi sat high on the building tops of Shiganshina, staring out at the wall, admiring the sun setting behind it. Titans or no, she couldn't help but belive that whatever was out there was far more beautiful than what was in here. She slid down the eves on the building she was on, landing on a lower roof. She sprinted quickly and lept to the next building, using her knives to dig in to the slate. She pulled herself silently up the side of the building using her knives for leverage. This place was supposed to house the mother lode. Enough to allow her and Claire to eat for weeks.

She crept into the window, sticking to the shadows. She approached a chest and using her thinner knives, jimmied it open.

Nothing. Not one damn thing lay inside the chest. A puzzled look crossed her face. This was supposed to be it. The best job in the city. As soon as she thought this, a realization dawned on her. She tensed. Becoming hyper-aware of her surroundings. She wasn't alone.

"Geez, you really are a greedy bitch," the all too familiar voice behind her chided. Jovi stood and slowly turned to face the figure. She kicked herself, not believing how irresponsibly careless she'd become.

"Kohl," she hissed his name. "Why are you here?" But she already knew the answer. As soon as she asked, the doors and windows all around her burst open, with members of the Garrison and MPs spilling in from all sides.

"Shadow Crawler, aka Jovi Meir, by order of the King, we place you under arrest for the crimes of treason, larceny, burglary, and murder," a stout, overfed member of the MPs declared, motioning for the other men to seize her. Kohl sat in the shadows, looking smug, watching as the MPs went to arrest the only stupid bitch who stood in his way.

"You bastard!" Jovi shouted, looking at Kohl with fire in her eyes. "Fuck off!" she shouted as she got grabbed from behind, elbowing whomever it was behind her in the gut. She pulled another knife from her waist and flung it across the room, striking an MP in the neck. He collapsed to the floor and she looked wildly around for Kohl, hoping desperately to stick him next. He was no where to be seen. Jovi was backed into a corner. A wild animal fighting desperately to survive. She snatched another knife from her boot and sent it sailing into the neck of yet another guard, but there were too many of them. Trapped, she grasped desperately for another weapon but before she could pull another knife, they were on top of her. Stripping her of her gear and her dignity.

She was caught.

***

Jovi walked across the courtyard, working her way to the officer quarters. Erwin's office was up on the 3rd floor, the largest suite, overlooking the entire compound. Jovi climbed the stairs slowly, wondering what the commander wanted now. A new reconnaissance mission? Help with strategy? Advice on formations? Or simply just to see her? 

Since joining the corps two years ago, Jovi and the Commander had very little mystery left between them. Her quick rise through the ranks had led to her being assigned to the first squad. AKA Squad Erwin. It as an extreme honor, and the two of them had come to form a symbiotic relationship. Erwin seemed to have a fondness for individuals on the fringes of society, due to their unique enterprises, and Jovi was no exception.


	4. Silver and Gold

Grace wasn't dumb enough to not notice the new recruits staring at her, particularly the boys, and she definitely noticed the way Jean's cheeks brightened.

The blonde tilted her head a little to the side and took in a deep breath of the cadets in front of her. Someone still smelled off. Flashing a smile she spoke up and joked: "Then let me graciously welcome you all here. The Survey Corps, the place where you can't do anything wrong aside from being sloppy at cleaning under the Captain's watch." She took care to keep her voice low enough so that Levi couldn't exactly hear her. Now that these cadets would get to do all the chores she didn't exactly want to get more cleaning duty as a result of joking around.

"A-and who are you?" It was the blonde boy, Armin, who asked her with a little smile on his face.

"Oh I almost forgot, I am Grace Alana, soldier of the 3rd Squad, serving under Squad Leader Zacharius," Grace replied and moved her gaze to Jean.

"Well then, let's catch up, shall we?" Grace poked Jean's shoulder.

Jean fought off another blush and instead put on his trademark smile. "Yeah, right," he said and watched Grace turn around and lead the way outside.

"You've grown," they said in unison after a while of silent walking. Grace let out a chuckle and pointed at the boy.

"You first."

"When did you get that tall? The last time I saw you, you were defiantly smaller than me," Jean said and over to Grace. 

"Well, in my second year in the 102nd I got most of my current height. You should have seen the faces on the guys when they realized I'd passed them all."

Without warning Jean let out a laugh "I bet they were speechless when they saw you in the top ten, then, too!"

With a kind smile Grace shook her head "I wasn't in the top ten. Most of them were always speaking about the Military Police, I mean I knew where I wanted to go from the beginning. Why should I try to take a spot away from them to waste it?"

Jean was actually... impressed. He'd always known she wanted to join the Corps from the beginning, but to go so far as to slack in training just so another recruit could get an MP spot? Grace may changed physically in the past several years, but her heart had remained the same. Too pure for this horrible world.

"That's... really awesome of you actually," Jean said.

Grace giggled as they strolled through the courtyard. "Thanks," she said beaming over at Jean. "So what made Mr. Future MP decide to join the Corps instead?

Jean looked down as they walked, kicking small stones that were in their path. "It's complicated. A lot changed after Trost fell."

Grace definitely noticed the change in Jean. He didn't seem quite as boisterous and exuberant and normal. "You lost someone, huh?" she said. She'd seen that face too many times. It was unmistakable. He'd lost his first comrade. By this point, Grace and seen so many faces come and go. She was almost... numb to it.

Jean nodded. "Yeah."

"You don't have to talk about it with me. I mean, we haven't seen each other in years! I don't expect you to bare your soul to me. But... I've been there. All of us here in the Corps have." She gave him a soft smile.

"Thanks," he said, trying to return his normal large smile to his face. "I'll... tell you about it sometime. What I can anyway. I don't even know what happened, honestly."

Grace brightened up again. "Great! Well, no hurry, I'm not going anywhere! Promise!" she said as she crossed her heart. "And now this means you're obligated to talk to me again! Even if I did manage to embarrass you in front of your friends."

Jean was surprised. Embarrass him? Sure, his face may have turned red, but he definitely wasn't ashamed of the way his friends had stared when she'd approached him. "You're not embarrassing, Grace," he said. "It's really been great running into you."

She beamed, "Thanks! Well, it's getting late and tomorrow will be your first real day as a member of the Survey Corps! But feel free to seek me out if you want! I'll get your story out of you some day!" She reached out and wrapped him in a big hug.

"O-okay, sure!" Jean replied, smiling for real this time. "See ya, Grace!" He watched as the girl trotted away towards the dormitories, leaving him standing in the courtyard with a huge grin and a red face. Grace had changed all right, and he was really quite fond of those changes.


	5. The Commander

Jovi entered Erwin's office without knocking. There was no point to it anymore. "Nice of you to finally arrive," he said without looking up for the papers strewn about his desk.

"A girls got to eat, you know?" She said crossing the room and sitting in one of the two chairs in front of his desk. She kicked her feet up and crossed them on his desk, leaning back in the chair. He looked up at her over a piece of parchment.

Sighing he reached out and shoved her feet of his desk and to the ground. She laughed and leaned forward. He stared at her for a beat and then smiled smally a short laugh escaping his mouth. "You are almost too good at torturing me, you know." 

"And that's why you love me so much," Jovi replied. "So, what do you want? It's recruit night and you've got me up here in your office."

Erwin sighed. "I don't understand how everyone can be so lighthearted after everything that's transpired." He rubbed his temples.

"Lighten up, old man," Jovi said. "I think a small bit of revelry is well deserved considering everything that has happened. Besides, we've got Jaeger, meaning we've got a shot. Trost may be a little worse for wear but we now have a game piece we never anticipated. And Zackly seems to been in our court for once."

She was right, Erwin knew, but it was harder for him than most to take his mind off of the big picture, even for a night. "I suppose that's fair," he said as he stacked the papers he was looking at and set them aside. "It also means we have our work cut out for us. Everything is riding on the success of this long-range scouting formation and successfully luring the female titan into the woods."

"I know your plan, Erwin," she said. "What I don't know is why you needed to see me so badly to tell me stuff I already know." She looked at him pointedly.

"Maybe I just wanted to see you, " Erwin said with a teasing smile. However, the smile faltered after a beat. "I wish it were just that. I need you to do some... reconnaissance."

Typical. This is usually what he needed when he "needed to see her right away." She literally could not escape her past. The joy of being the commander's "shadow."

"What do you want this time?"

"Don't sound so excited." Erwin gave her a small smile. "I need you to head into the capital for me. I need to know what they're actually planning on doing with Eren. We have custody of him for now, but I don't trust the MPs with any single fiber of my being. They're going to be planning something. Perhaps they're even the ones who've planted the traitor. As you know, we believe the female titan is tied to military somehow and she can't be working alone."

Jovie sighed. "What about training the new recruits?"

"That's not your job. While you're away, they'll be trained in the long-range scouting formation and by the time you return you'll continue preparations with us for our expedition. I only expect you to be gone a few days"

She shrugged. Erwin's word was law, at least in her book. "All right. When do I leave?"

"Tomorrow." He picked up another stack of papers and began filing through them. Stopping, he looked back up at her. "You're free to go 'revel' with your comrades, now."

Jovi laughed as she stood. "You know I hate that sort of thing."


	6. A Night Off

"Hey Grace!"

The voice belonged to a male that came a year before Grace and Jovi to the Survey Corps. 

"Hey Shu, what's up?" With a friendly tone Grace turned around to face Shu Kaneki, another member of her squad. 

"You know what night it is, right? Recruitment night! You're coming aren't you?" he asked and ended it with a charming smirk.

"That's still happening?" Grace asked? She figured with the somber mood maybe they'd take the yar off. "You do realize that we can get into one hell of a trouble for that?"

"The commander doesn't care. It's the captain we have to worry about. Besides, when we have you with us nobody can sneak up on us. What can possibly go wrong?!" 

After thinking on it for barely a second Grace was already hyped. "Okay, I'll get Jovi and then we'll come to... where exactly?"

"Basement of the men's dorms. Don't be too late or the alcohol will be completely gone!" With that he turned away and headed off to the dormitories.

Shaking her head Grace watched him go and remained on her spot for a moment. Two thoughts crossed her mind at once: Jean and Jovi. Technically Jean couldn't be possibly allowed there, but when everyone there was probably already drunk, it wouldn't be that obvious. So, the first thing she did was turn on her heel and run into the direction Jean had gone.

"Jean!"

Taken by surprise Jean nearly stumbled over his own feet. "G-grace, what is it? Did something happen? I thought you were going to-"

"Shut up and listen to me. There's gonna be a party and technically it's for soldiers in their second year and up only- but, I mean if you want, I'd like to take you with me. We would have to get Jovi first, though."

Jean's blank expression gave Grace enough of an answer, it wasn't a no. So she just pulled him after her by grabbing his wrist. "Jovi, Jovi, Jovi where could you possibly be," she almost sang and entered the dining hall again "Where could the shadow of Erwin be. Of course right at his side!" Grace followed some kind of logic that was not understandable at all to Jean.

After a while, Jean was walking on his own by now, Grace had found her desired destination, the officer's quarters, and came up right behind Jovi. The overexcited blonde walked up to Jovi and whispered into her ear, placing her hands on Jovi's shoulders "Hey grumpy cat, wanna do something fun?"

Jovi didn't jump. She almost did, but managed to save herself. She was used to Grace attempting to sneak up her. Of course no one could sneak up on Grace. Not with that nose of her.

"Ugh, what do you want?" Jovi complained playfully, knowing fullwell what Grace was going to ask her.

"Come on! It's recruitment night! You've gotta come!" She grabbed Jovi's wrist and tugged her towards the door.

"Come on, Grace you know I hate that shit." Jovi tried to tug away but Grace's grip was firm. There wasn't any getting out of this she knew.

Jovi saw Jean waiting for them at the doorway. "What the hell, Grace, new recruits aren't supposed to be there! That defeats the whole point."

Jean looked away awkwardly as the Lieutenant eyed him suspiciously. "Oh come one, Jovi. He's a childhood friend! Everyone is going to be too drunk to even notice!" Grace linked arms with Jovi and Jean, one on each side. "Let go!" she sang, dragging them both along.

The went through the doors of the higher-ranking dorms, the sounds of chatter and laughter wafting up from below.

"Ooh! Oluo's brother sent him brandy again!" Grace said sniffing the air.

"Only you, big nose," Jovi teased. She really did hate this sort of thing. She loved her fellow corps members, but socializing in such a crowded setting was fairly irritating. But... Grace was her friend. So she'd suck it up.

They went into the gathering space, the majority of the 2-years-and-over gathered there, bumping into each other, laughing, and throwing back cheaply distilled alcohol. Jovi's eyes surveyed the room, eventually landing in a corner where Olua sat with a bottle his brother always sent him, Petra sitting in his lap her held tilted back in laughter.

People walked and even bumped into Jean but they didn't identify him as a recruit. Grace and Jean let out a relieved sigh. "Now that we are here, I'll get us something to drink!"

Grace left Jovi and Jean behind, standing awkwardly at the outer circle of the room. It wasn't legal at all for neither Jean nor Grace to drink alcohol at their age. And Jean was doubting that it would be such a good idea before his first training day at the survey corps. But then again, he trusted her and himself, he wouldn't get too drunk, now would he?

About five minutes later the blonde returned with the glasses of Olou's brandy. A successful grin was spreading on her face as she managed to get through the crowd with ease due to her height.

She handed everyone a glass and raised her own. "For one more year of killing titans and making friends!" With that she moved the glass to her mouth and took a deep breath of the burning aroma that tickled in her nose. With an even wider grin flashing at Jovi and Jean she sipped from it. "Praise be to Oluo's brother."

Jovi couldn't help but grin. Grace was able to bring out the somewhat social side of her. These intensely social situations were irritating. Jovi would much rather being sitting on the roof sharing a pot tea with... someone. Not here. But she'd loved Grace, so she'd suck it up for tonight.

"I'm going to go say hey to Petra," Jovi said, slipping away from Grace and Jean. What the hell what Grace doing, bringing a new recruit to the recruit party? It completely defeated the purpose. Jovi slipped between the throng, making sure not to spill her brandy. She wasn't much of a drinker, but Oluo was only able to get this from his brother one or two times a year so she had every intention of savoring it.

"Hey love birds," she teased as she approached Oluo and Petra.

They were a pair of flushed faces. "Jovi!" Petra nearly shrieked, pulling herself off of Oluo's lap. "You came!" She wrapped Jovi in a hug. Jovi returned it with one arm, smiling awkwardly.

"Thanks for the brandy, Olua," Jovi said, leaning over Petra's shoulder.

"You're lucky you're one of my favorites," Oluo teased. Brandy didn't get handed out to just anyone.

Across the room, Grace and Jean moved to a corner that was quieter. Jean sniffed his brandy and wrinkled his nose. The smell was potent. Jean hadn't really had alcohol before, but he refused to look stupid in front of Grace. He took a gulp of the amber liquid, and nearly puked. Coughing, he did everything he could to swallow and not spit it out.

Grace bust out laughing. "You're supposed to sip it, you dork! Don't don't chug it!" She slapped him hard on the back and he let out a huge cough which quickly turned to laughter.

"Sorry, sorry!" He laughed. "I haven't exactly had much booze in my life."

Grace giggled, and both both them fell into laughter. "It's okay!" she said. "I'm not exactly an expert, it's just that Oluo's brother sends him booze every so often and whenever that happens it's a party for us all."

Jean sipped his brandy this time. "Is that allowed? I mean, the commander doesn't care?"

"Nah, he's pretty cool. I guess he thinks we've earned it so he doesn't really bat an eye."

Jean was impressed. He'd heard so much about Commander Erwin, but always about how intense he was. He as surprised he'd be so relaxed about this sort of thing.

"It's Captain Levi we need to worry about," Grace said, taking a sip. "He's got a much worse sense of humor."

She giggled, and Jean couldn't help but notice how cute she looked with the pink flush across her cheeks.

"Whatever you do, you should try not to make him angry at all costs. That Jaeger probably learned it the hard way, but you'll have one hell of a time if you make him mad."

Jean shook his head with a grin on his face "I'll bet you're speaking out of experience then?"

"No, not at all! I don't even have that much contact to him since I am in another squad."

Mocking the girls who swooned over their captain, Grace put on a false falsetto. "I only get the honor to see him when I am with Jovi or it's cleaning day, such a shame don't you think?" She managed to stay in her role until Jean let out a laugh.

"Yeah, definitely a shame that you can't be close to him all the time." Although he knew that Grace was joking and all, he wasn't too enthusiastic about it. He knew that Grace probably didn't even think about relationships. Being a good soldier was way more important to her. Either this alcohol was already corrupting his thinking or he really felt jealous right now, either way he wasn't too comfortable with it.

With a smile Grace leaned her head against the wall they were standing next to. "Already that drunk?" Jean asked but Grace instantly denied it with a smirk.

"Nope. I don't get drunk that easy; we're not the garrison. I'm just happy. That is all. Just wait till you get outside for the first time. The world outside these walls is so much different from the life within them. Endless lands of green while the sky looks like - wait a second." Grace sniffed the air for a second.

Without warning her head shot up and turned into the direction of the door. "Shit. Okay GUYS," she said in a loud whisper, handing Jean her empty glass. "Shut up and hide the alcohol before the devil cleaner-"

"Before the devil cleaner... what? Alana. Before the devil cleaner does what?" All the enthusiastic voices were gone within a single moment. The steely eyes gazed through the room and as soon as they rested on Jovi next to the other members of his squad, they grew even colder. "What the hell are you stupid brats doing here?"

Levi massaged the bridge of his nose and growled. "Alana, you have stall cleaning for two weeks, for that charming comment. And Meir- to my office. Now! For the rest, get to your fucking rooms! I expect to see everyone of you running your asses off in the morning."

He almost turned around, but when he spotted Kirstein with the two glasses in his hands he raised his voice once again. "Kirstein. It is your god damn first day and you already decided to fuck around like that?! You share stable duty with Alana, only double the time!"

Jean was nearly shaking. He stood a head taller than the Captain, but the short man's presence was larger than life. He felt Grace grab his wrist and tug him out the door, laughing.

Levi's eyes fell on Jovi once more and he watched as she slowly set her glass down and moved to follow him out of the room. The walked in silence, with Jovi trailing slightly behind him, until they reached his office and shut the door behind them.


	7. Tea Time

"Great timing, Captain Killjoy," Jovi said to Levi as he shut the door behind her.

Levi moved to stove and grabbed the whistling pot. He poured them both cups of tea and handed one to Jovi. "Don't be a bitch." He sat in the large chair behind his desk, watching her.

She walked across the room and sat on the edge of his desk. She sipped her tea, staring at him over the rim of her glass. "I'm always a bitch," she replied. Jovi set her glass on the desk; Levi slid a coaster quickly under it before it could touch the bare mahogany.

"What the hell were you doing there, anyway?" he asked. "You typically hate those sorts of things.

Jovi laughed. "Of course I hate those things. I still do. Grace dragged me. The sacrifices we make for our friends," she smiled wistfully.

"Alana hardly looked as if she remembered you were there."

Jovi smiled tightly. It was true, Grace had definitely been more preoccupied with that new kid. Jovi could have easily slipped away. "Yeah, well, I was there. So, what's my punishment, Captain?" She looked at him teasingly.

A brief smile darted across his lips. He shook his head. "What could I do to you?" He stood and walked around the desk to stand in front of Jovi. He placed his hands on the desk on either side of her and leaned in, causing her to tip backward. "From what I hear, you're going to be gone tomorrow. Looks like I'll have to fit some punishment in tonight."

Their noses were nearly touching at this point and Jovi quickly tilted her head up kissed him. Before she could pull back, he grabbed the back of her head and held her to him, moving his lips down her neck. She giggled and ran one hand through his black hair while the other held tightly to the back of his shirt.

Without breaking away, Levi scooped her up and carried her through the door to his room.

***Author's note: May add a bit of smut later ;)***


	8. The Ghost

"That was totally worth it!!" The tall blonde threw her hands in the air and even jumped up a little.

"Said the one that only got two weeks," Jean protested but couldn't help his signature smile from spreading across his face. "I have to say, it was pretty awesome. And no other recruits got to do this, so- thank you."

"Thank you for what?" While both held their smile on their faces Grace tilted her head.

"Well, obviously that you took me with you!" That warmth was spreading over his cheeks again and Jean wasn't really happy to feel it. He awkwardly rubbed his neck. "I guess it hasn't changed to much."

"Oh you idiot, why should something have changed? And honestly, what do you mean? Between us or what?" Although Grace wasn't that drunk her senses were clouded. 

"Well, yeah. It's been five years. I expected you to not even remember me that well when I saw you in the stall."

"You really are an idiot then, Jean-bo," Grace spoke dreamily gazing up into the night sky, admiring all the stars above them. "Those would look even better out there too. We need to do that sometime, see the stars outside the wall together."

The way she was standing there, leaning against a tree to support her. The reflection of the moon in her silky hair made her look like a goddess. The brown eyes that could have rivaled the most extravagant chocolates from the capital, which sparkled even more when she smiled. All of it was driving Jean insane, and the alcohol made it even worse.

He imagined the twelve-year-old version of her, the one right before her mother passed away and she suddenly vanished. Long blonde pigtails. She was smaller than him, and over the years her body had grown from a gangly thin one, to a strong one filled in with curves Jean could never have dreamed of.

He fell for her then, and now he was in that situation again. Except to him, he was still that chubby little kid he tried to forget so badly.

Mustering all his courage, and the boost the alcohol game him, he walked up to Grace. Just as he went to clsoe the distance between his and her face she pushed herself away from the tree and smiled at Jean, not suspecting a thing about what Jean nearly did.

"Anyway, it's so late! We should both get sleep, especially since we're both stuck with stables tomorrow," she pouted. "Let's do something fun like that again, yes?"

***

Here they were again. Grace Alana and Jean Kirstein at the same place they had met yesterday. Only that it was now both of them who had to clean up the stall. 

"Jovi just cleaned yesterday how can they be this dirty again? It hasn't even been a day!" Grace moaned and let out a frustrated sigh.

Jean cleaned his side of the stall in a slower pace as Grace did. He wasn't working as hard as he should be, his mind was still replaying the night before and that stupid image of Grace leaning against that tree, while he missed his chance like an idiot.

"Hey Jean," Grace spoke when she saw that he'd stop moving, clearly lost in thought. "Jean. Jean? Jean are you even listening to me? No? Okay I'll try again later," she spoke more to herself and shook her head a little.

Jean sure was acting strange. Was it that she took him to the party yesterday? Maybe. But he wouldn't have thanked her for taking him if there was anything to be this lost in thought over. Though Grace couldn't change that right now. She wished that at least something interesting could happen now, like, a Jean that was able to talk and wasn't stuck in cleaning the same spot over and over.

Over the scent of the stall Grace noticed, that Jovi was coming closer to them. "Oooh, Jovi what an honor, what are you doing here~"

"Don't get too excited, I'm just getting Kuro." 

Grace blinked at her a few times. "So Erwin's Shadow is leaving us? What can be that important, when will you get back?"

"It's confidential, Grace. I'll be back when I am back. It's not like you need me to help you with the stall anymore. You have horseface now!"

"Who are you calling horseface!" Jean finally snapped out of his daze and lowered his brows. 

"Heard it earlier from some of the other recruits, I believe it was Jaeger."

"I am so going to kill him!"

"Now, now, you don't need to kill him for calling you horseface. I think your face is just fine," Grace said with a smile and once again catching Jean off guard.

"Well, I've got to head out. Siren, Horseface - see you in a few days."

Jean and Grace looked after her and Jovi gave a small wave without looking back.

"So your name is Siren because of your nose, and that you can sense things before seing it?"

"Yep. That's exactly the reason, and I don't think it's that bad."

"Well, it's a hell of a lot better than Horseface," Jean grunted, going back to his shoveling.

Grace giggled, "That's true! But, for the record, I don't think you have a horseface at all."

Grace's head turned to the mare that was standing the most distant from her. "Hey, Irene what's wrong?" Her enthusiastic smile vanished from her face as she made her way over to the black beauty. In contrast to his nickname Jean wasn't an expert with horses, but this mare definitely was troubled. The blonde's hand moved over the strong horse's back while the other combed its mane. "I know you miss her," she spoke with a sigh.

Did she just show some kind of sadness? Jean tilted his head and lowered his brows as she continued to calm the mare. Was her constant happiness just a facade? Whose horse was that? He didn't want to ask about it. Not right now, he felt like he shouldn't while she was like this. To be honest he had no idea what he could say.

"Je-Jean. Get Captain Levi to the front, now!" Jean saw how her breath hitched for a moment and a smile returned to her face. "Wh-Why?"

"Don't ask, just do it already!"

With that Jean went out of the stall and followed her orders, after all she was a superior.

Grace herself went out of the stall and ran down the road that lead to the main buildings. When more than just messy, long hair came into her sight her eyes widened and she nearly let out a scream. "Eiko!"

The broken figure moved her gaze up and eyed the girl running down the path in front of her. Like most of the others, Eiko was smaller than Grace, but this time Grace could have sworn that she was smaller than usual. There she was, the twin sister of the Captain, her uniform torn apart and ripped off pieces of her shirt used as bandages all over her body. The green cape with the wings of freedom on its back hugn down from her shoulders was cut to less than half. The eyepatch she always wore to hide her already missing eye was gone and her gaze felt even colder and more hollow than it normally was.

In her right hand she held the only sword she had left so tightly, as if her life depended on it. With a scratching and low voice she began to speak. "Alana. I fight my way back, passed those fuck-faces and have to deal with the idiot soldiers of the garrison, and the first face I see is yours. How predictable," she spoke with sarcasm in her voice.

"I thought you were-"

"Dead? How pathetic. It takes more than just a few titans to kill me. "

"If this is some kind of dumb prank you should prepare yourself for more than just cleaning chores, brat!" The voice Eiko's counterpart made her ease up a bit, although the pain was still strong and coursed through her nerves, muscles, and bones with every step she took. She let her broken sword clatter to the ground. 

With a little whisper of hope, she felt his name escape her lips. "Levi."

Levi stopped dead. The ragged figure before him was hardly recognizable, but he could pick her out of a crowd even it'd been a million years.

"Eiko." Always stoic, Levi strode quickly forward. "Someone get medics! She needs help!" He caught her in his arms right before she collapsed. "Tch, disgusting per usual." She looked up him with her steel gray eyes. Levi let a tiny smile pass his lips before wrapping his filthy sister in a hug. "The walking dead," he teased. "You look horrible."

"Well, I feel even worse," she said, using his arm to pull herself back to standing position. Several corps members were running to them. "Levi, it's been... a journey." She smiled sourly.

"Not now," he said, handing her off to the medics.

"But..." she protested.

"You can tell me later. Just... get fixed up first. Eat something. And for gods sake take a damn shower."

Grace could hardly believe her eyes. How long had it been since Eiko had been seen? It felt like a lifetime ago, but it'd been about a week. She looked terrible, but here she was. Alive. She wanted nothing more than to drop everything she was doing and go see Eiko, but she knew she needed to finish her chores and give Eiko time to get patched up. Besides, Captain Levi would trump Grace in terms of who got to visit first. She could wait.

"Who is that?" Jean asked, leaning on his shovel.

"You don't know?!" Grace exclaimed. "That's Eiko. Captain Levi's sister."

Jean had no idea the captain had a sister. "Really? What's going on with her? She looked awful."

Grace sighed, giving Jean a playful look. "She's been gone since our last expedition. We got called back to the wall so quickly. The titans, you know. We didn't have time to gather everyone. She was gone. We thought..." The light in Grace's eyes flickered a moment. "We thought she was dead."


End file.
